Ah, Paris in the spring time!

Recently back after a lovely 10 days in Paris and Belgium. I loved Paris; and am glad I saw Belgium. I traveled in Paris with my friend, Lisa, who then went on to a conference in Blankenberge, Belgium (on the North Sea). We spent 5 days enjoying the sights, sounds and tastes of Paris – Notre Dame, the Louvre, Arc de Triomphe, the Eiffel Tower, Montmartre (where we saw Jim Morrison’s grave in the cemetery), Sacre Coeur, the beautiful gardens – Luxembourg and Tuilleries, Les Invalides and Napolean’s Tomb, Musee d’Orsay (my favourite – the impressionists and post-impressionsists), Versailles, etc., etc.

My first view of the Eiffel Tower -eek! I'm really in Paris!

Of course, we ate many wonderful meals (had fondue twice, in fact), stopped at several cafes for a café au lait or a beer (depending on the time of day) and just enjoyed the greenery and oh, the flowers(!) and the ambiance of Paris. As we walked toward the Eiffel Tower we passed this incredible building that had a garden growing all the way up the exterior of the building!

Building with the garden growing right up the side of it

One night we saw a funny one-man show called “How go Become a Parisian in One Hour” – very clever. Another evening we went to a concert at the Notre Dame Cathedral. On the day we walked down the Champs Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe I was astonished at the amount of garbage on the sidewalks along this elegant and world renown street. As we approached the Arc de Triomphe I noticed a huge sculpture in the yard right at the corner of the Champs Elysees by Charles DeGaulle Place. It looked like a huge wrapped hard candy, but was the color and design of the Qatar flag. Well, sure enough, we were at the Embassy of the State of Qatar. They sure have some prime real estate there!

Qatar Embassy - see the candy-like sculpture?

It seems with all the trips I've taken, we run across a wedding. The day we were in Montmartre, there was an adorable Asian couple having wedding photos taken on the carousel.

Bride and groom on the carousel in Montmartre

We took the train the Brussels where Lisa and I parted company for a few days while she attended the conference in Blankenberge and I spent time seeing Brussels, Antwerp, and Brugge before meeting Lisa again in Blankenberge. I had a routine all worked out where I arrived in the city, found a hotel and settled in my room by about 2:00 p.m. I then set out to walk around the city and get my bearings, often with the helpful suggestions of the hotel concierge about which direction I should go and what I should see. I did no research re: what there is to see in Belgium, so the following mornings I got on a city tour bus in each city to see the highlights. What a great way to see a city on limited time. By 12 or 1:00 p.m. each day I would be back at the train station to catch the train to my next destination.

Because I actually reached the age I am without having traveled internationally, I had a lot of irrational fear and anxiety about traveling alone in a foreign country. The thought of not being able to speak the language, being unable to make myself understood, not find my way around, had me quite anxious. But I am proud to say that, as with most things I have obsessed about in my life, these fears were totally groundless and I found it very easy to find my way around. I found the Belgian people to be more reserved than the French and the French people were warmer and more welcoming and helpful than I had expected. My high school French was very helpful in reading signs, maps, menus and minimal conversing with people (oh, I wish I were braver about speaking French – it’s a lovely language).

We enjoyed lovely weather for the entire trip, making it all that much more difficult to come back to the heat and humidity of Doha (it’s been ~40 degrees Celsius all week). I went out to dinner last night and as I stepped out of the restaurant, my glasses fogged up! It’s going to be a long haul until my next trip at the end of August!!!